1971 Questor Grand Prix
| poletime = 1:41.257 | fastestlap = 1:42.777 | fastestlapdriver = Pedro Rodríguez | fastestlapnation = MEX | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 53 | winner = Mario Andretti | winnernation = USA | winnerteam = | second = Jackie Stewart | secondteam = | secondnation = GBR | third = Denny Hulme | thirdteam = | thirdnation = NZL | racecode = QUE }} The 1971 Questor Grand Prix was a non-championship Grand Prix, held on the road course at the brand new Ontario Motor Speedway, in Ontario, California on March 28, 1971. It was staged as a possible dry run for a second grand prix in the United States. The race was won by Mario Andretti in a , who quickly passed polesitter Jackie Stewart in a , and won both heats convincingly. Stewart was second in both heats, and Denny Hulme in a managed to snag third place on aggregate, by virtue of a tiebreaker over Chris Amon in a . Unfortunately, financial problems by the parent corporation meant that this was the only time the race was run. Formula One did eventually come back to California, but five years later, at Long Beach. Background Ontario Motor Speedway was designed as 'Indianapolis West', and the oval track matched Indianapolis Motor Speedway right down to the track measurements and the 9° 11' banking in the corners. But that's where the similarities ended. Where the grandstands in Indianapolis had to be squeezed into the available space, Ontario's were wide and open. Instead of the short and narrow pits at Indy, the pit lane ran the entire length of the front straight, and was wide enough that it was used as a competition drag strip. The builders also created a road course in the infield, running almost 3.2 miles, and designed to keep as much of the action close to the grandstands as possible. The course used the entire main straight and one of the banked turns, before turning into the infield and negotiating several switchbacks. It was also built to the latest FIA specifications, and the Formula One cars were invited in the spring after the track opened. The race was the non-championship 'dry run' before a proposed Grand Prix, starting in 1972, but the sponsoring Questor Corporation ran into financial problems after this event, and had to withdraw their involvement. Formula One never ran at Ontario again. But the idea of Formula One on the west coast of the United States finally came to fruition, five years later at Long Beach. The race was run in two heats of 32 laps, with a point system based on finishing position of each heat determining the final placing. Ties were broken by distance covered or elapsed time. Each heat awarded points by 40-35-32-30-28-26-24, then one point less for each spot down to one point for 30th. The field of Formula One cars was supplemented by a group of Formula A (Formula 5000 with fuel injection and other minor differences) entries. Despite the fact that the track was 6,000 miles from England, a huge prize fund of $278,400 (even larger than that posted by Watkins Glen) ensured a large entry. The teams: * : The team returned with what would be the standard entry for 1971, with Graham Hill in the lone BT34 "lobster claw" (in which he had set fastest lap the week before at Brands Hatch), and Tim Schenken in a 1970 BT33. * : The Bourne team showed up with three cars. Pedro Rodríguez and Jo Siffert were in P160s, and Howden Ganley was in the P153. BRM made out quite well financially with three cars in the top 10. * : The Scuderia had originally entered three cars, but that was later reduced to two, as Clay Regazzoni stayed behind for testing. The decision to run Mario Andretti was rewarded with his second victory in less than a month. * : The 56B turbine was supposed to be used, as its higher top speed would presumably be an advantage on the oval section that it had originally been designed for. But the team took a more conservative approach, due to the possible financial rewards of the event. * : The factory only had one completed 711 for Ronnie Peterson, and declined to run any of their remaining 701s. **Frank Williams entered the latest 711, for Henri Pescarolo, and also entered a 701 with rebuilt suspension for Derek Bell. **The US-based STP Racing entered the 701 that Andretti had used in 1970 for John Cannon. * : Jean-Pierre Beltoise was still suspended from racing for his role in the death of Ignazio Giunti, so the team only ran one car for Chris Amon. * : McLaren had the usual entry, with no changes. * : Surprisingly, the team skipped this event, saying the trip would be too expensive, despite the enormous prize fund. * : Both drivers had been entered, but the team wound up keeping François Cevert in Europe for tire testing and shaking down the 003 car. This would be the last time that the 001 model would be raced until Watkins Glen. Entry List The entry list for the is outlined below: ** Reserve entries. Practice Results This was the first Formula One race to time to thousandths of a second. Heat One Results Heat Two Results Results on aggregate Notes Category:1971 non-championship Grands Prix Category:Formula One races in the United States Category:1971 Formula One Season Category:Non-Championship races